LISBON – Western Maine Transportation Services will end the Lisbon Connection bus line this fall because there are no federal funds to support it, but alternatives are already being considered, Community Relations Director Craig Zurhorst told town councilors Tuesday.
The Federal Transit Administration reclassified the Lisbon and Sabattus bus route as urban instead of rural, he said. “It makes no sense, I can’t defend it. I’m not even going to try.”
Federal funds for urban bus routes in the area are being used by the Lewiston Auburn bus line, leaving no funding for the Lisbon Connection route, he said.
The Lisbon Connection makes a loop through downtown Lisbon Falls, goes to downtown Lewiston and then returns to downtown Lisbon several times a day five days a week.
In response to the funding cuts, Western Maine Transportation Service officials are considering combining the Lisbon Connection route with the Blue Line route, which goes between Auburn and Bath and includes two stops in Lisbon, Zurhorst said. The agency is also considering a demand-response service for people who want to use the bus but are not on Route 196 or within walking distance.
If the two routes are combined, there will be two extra runs per day and people will be able to travel in both directions, toward Lewiston or Bath, he said.
Western Maine Transportation Service is requesting $45,000 from the town, the same as last year, which will go toward operating the Lisbon Connection until funding runs out in October, paying for the demand-response service and helping to fund the Blue Line route, he said.
In other business, Town Manager Glenn Michalowski went over further cuts to the proposed town operating budget. The proposal was reduced by more than $1.1 million during the workshop last month. The initial proposal was $17.2 million and now it stands at just over $16 million.
This year’s proposed budget was close to a flat expense budget, he said.
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